Machine for making envelopes



April 13 1926. r F. J. PARKS MACHINE FOR MAKING ENvELoPEs 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed yFeb'. 4., 1924 nwlmlilnm? 1 msx, J

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m V /N Herbie/cx( d @4e/(6 By @www Arme/ven g 1,580,441 F. J'. PARKS MACHINE FOR MAKING' ENvELoPEs April 13 1926.

Filed Feb. 4, 1924 --5 shegtysheet 2 35 Ilmplum? 0 I Hlll l' e Hi WI' )92 I W n 'Hr 1I ul."

April 13 1926. 1,580,441

F. J. PARKS MACHINE FOR MAKING ENVELOPES Filed Feb. 4, 1924 '5 Sheets..she`e-t, 5

s Q ooooaoooooneo ,477-0 /vEK F. J. PARKS' MACHINE FOR MAKING ENVELOPEISl April 13,1926.

Filed Feb.4 4, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet l4 April 13 ,1926. 1,580,441 Y F.- J. PARKS MACHINE Fon MAKING ENvELoPEs l Fiied.Feb. 4. 1924 e sheets-sheet 5 l v Arme/ver April 13 1926. x 1,580,441

' 'F. J. PARKS MACHINE FOR MAKING ENvELoPEs Filed Feb. 4, 1924 e sheets-sheet e4 (55 l Z\ h z* ms 8 Tic- Y 1/5 Y l v j /2/ 1 L 4/9 2 JWM/EK Patented Apr. 13, '1926.

UNITED: STATES PATENT orl-lcr-i.V

` IREDERIGK JAMES PARKS, or CLEVELAND, oIIIo.

' MACHINE Fon. MAKING y'ENvnLoIEs Application med February-1, 1:?24.' serial- 110,590,423.

To aIZZ whom t may concern: j

Be it known that I, FREDERICK vJ. PARKS,

' a citizen of the UnitedStates, resident of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Making Envelopes, of which the following is a specification, the principle of the invention being herein explained and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it ventions.

""My invention relates tomachines for making envelopes and particularly to improve- .ments in a machine of this character shown from other jin'- in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,316,737 issuedY to me upon September 23, '1919, "The invention .particularly consists`in new and improved means -for conveying and guiding positively and in proper alinement the blank through the inachine in which it is auto- -inatically folded and formed into a complete envelope; -in new and improved means for gluing the 'blanksdso as to allow for 1 the sealing of the side flaps and side tabs to the envelope body; in new and improved 4means for scoring said sidelaps and turn-ff ing the saine in and'over the envelope body;

and innew and improved means foi` stack-` ing the completed envelopes. Other improvements and incidental advantages will appear in the later detail description of the machine.

The annexedk drawings and 4the following description set forth in detail certain means Figure 2 represents,7up0n an enlarged scale, afragmentarytransverse vertical sec- Cal tion, taken in the planes indicated by the lline II-II, Figure5; a I

Figure 3 represents :a longitudinal ver-- tical section, taken in the plane indicated by the line III-III, Figure. 2;

Figure 4c represents, upon an enlarged scale, a fragmentaryl longitudinal vertical section, taken in the plane indicated by the line IV-IV, Figure 5;.

Figure represents a plan viewv of the nia- 1V chine, partsoficertain folding-device guides, and the glue reservoir and pipes leading 'therefrom being omitted; 1 l Figure' is a fragmentary elevation, taken from the plane indicated by the line VI-fA Figure 7 -"s a fragmentary plan section, upon an enlarged scale, taken inthe `plane represented vby the line VIL-VII, Figure 1i;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary? longitudinal vertical section, taken inthe `plane indicated by the line VIII-V'IIL Figur-e 7;

Figure `9`is a transverse vertical section,

taken in lthe plane indicated by'jthe line IXIX, Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a transversevertical section,

taken in the planes indicated by the line X-X, Figure 8 Figure 11 is an elevation of the gluing devices and the means directly acting to move the same toward and lfrom the posi- C .tion in'which they apply the glue to the lateral edges of theenvelopebody;

Figure 11av is a plan Section, taken in the planes indicated by the line XIa-XIS, Fig:

ure 11;

Figures 12, 13 and 14 ,representfragmen-- tary elevations taken, respectively, from the Y planes indicated by they-lines XII--XIL XIII-XIII and XIV-XIV, Figure 11;

Figure 15 represents, upon an enlarged scale, a 'fragmentary longitudinal vertical ,I

section, taken in the, plane indicated byline XV-XV, Figure 11; t

Figures 16,` 17 and 18 are diagrammatic representations of t-he three folding opera- 'tions vto which the-envelope blank is initially subjected, resulting in the formation of `a detachably interlocked pocket and pull-4 out clasp, -as shown in Figure 25;

Figures 19,' 2o, 21, 22,23 and 24 rpresent, upon an enlarged scale, fragmentary transverse vertical Sections, taken .in the planes indicated respectively bythe lines KIXKIX, XKXK, XXIe-XXI, KKILXKII, XXIII- XXIII ana XXIVI-XXIV,-Figure 7, showingwvarious successivel steps in the creasing of-the blank which has been folded by the devices shown in Figures 16, 17 'and 18, the application A of glue thereto, and theturning. of the side flaps and side tabs of said blank over upon the body of the envelope and the twoply pocket, to form a complete envelope,

v as shown in Figure,.26,`which is then subjected to the pressi-ng and stacking operamachiney which are completely shown inv y other figures and will be hereinafter fully described;

Figure 25 represents a plan view of the envelope blank as it emerges from the folding devices diagrammatically shown in Figures 16, 17 v and 18;

Figure 26 represents a plan view of the completely folded and glued envelopeas it f passes from the operation indicated in Figure 24 Figures 27 to 34, inclusive, represent in i' ydetail a'certain structure of .the envelope blank,` and the operation of certain buckling stops androlls, and the successive structures. 'of the envelope guided therebyfall supplementary to andv explanatory of various structures and operations represented by v Figures 6, 16, l?, 18, 25 and 26. OfV these figures, 27 ...to 34, inclusive, Figure 27 repf y resents a plan view of the envelope blank; Figure 2,8 is a diagrammaticsectional view through the feed rolls, sho-wing 'the blank inthe position where it has been stopped and initially buckled for creating the first fold, this view corresponding Awith the position of the blank and the guide and stops shown in yFigure 6; Figure 29 isa ldiagrammatic sectional view through the feed rolls, showing the blank at the completion of thev first fold; Figure 3() is a plan view of the second set of guides, and the feed rolls,

showing the blank in position against thev stops of this guide, the view correspondingvto that shown in Figure 29; FiggyurJ 31 isa plan view of the blank itself atthe completion of the first fold thereof. The beginning of the secondy fold has already beenl shown in lFigure 17 (as also they beginning ofthe first fold in Figure 16); Figure 32 .is a diagrammatic sectional view through 'the feed rolls, showing the blank at the completion of the second fold; Figure 33 is a Y plan viewr of the second and third sets of guides, showing the blank against the stops ofthe third set at-the completion of the secondfoldgand Figure 34 is a plan view ofv the blank itself at the completion of the second fold. The beginning of the third fold has been shown in Figure 18, and the appearance of the blank at the completion ofthe third fold has been shown in Figure v25. .Y I, L

Referring to lthe annexed drawings, in

1 which the several elements are indicated 4by ,i the same respective'ordinals inthe different views, I indicate by the ordinal 1 a feed table from which envelope blanks 2 are fed successively through upper and lower pe- Lripherally engaging rolls 3 and 4 into the l bight of rolls 5 and 6. Roll 4 is stationary and the engaging y'portion of rotating'roll 3 n to enter in doubled condition the bight of y the rolls. 6 and 9, Figure 1, whence emerging from which" it follows the-guide 10 until stops 11, vFigure 17, buckle it adjacent its doubled rear end into the bight of the rolls 9 and 12,-when`ce emerging from whichit` is -`conducted by the guide 13Figure 1, un-I til it 'is' 'the third time buckled by the stops 114, this third buckling 'operation being ad.

jacent the then forward end of the doubled blank and causing the" blank to enter the bight ofthe rolls l2fand l5, Figure 18 whence it emerges in the form shown in Figure 25. Some detail illustration of the blank and the structure and operation of the feedrolls and Vguides and buckling 'stops is shown in Figures 27 to 34,'inclusive. lt

will be noted therein that the blank 2 cornprises a substantially rectangular portion 112 and a narrower substantially rectangular portion 113, each of these portions be-` ing formed with terminal portions, which,

as fully described later, are adapted to be conjointly folded, the portion 112 being con-Y sidered the front of vthe `blank 2 and the portion 113 being pconsidered therear, these two portions being transversely folded upon one another in the plane 119 to `create a bottom closure for the completed envelope. The ends of the'twd portions 112 and 113 are twice transversely folded, inthe planes 120-121 and 122--123,-respectively, aswill be hereinafter fully described. The lateral extensions 32 of the front blank portion Y 112 are turned in and sealed down upon the rear of the back portion 113 to form envelope side closures, asv will be hereinafter fully described. `The transverse folding of the blank 2`is effected by certain feed rolls 5, 6, 9, 12 and 15, in combination with a plurality lof pairs of guides 7,10 and 13, having respective sets of stops 8, 11 and 14, which Will now lbe described.` rlhese guides 7, 10 and 13, plainly shown` in Figures 6, 30 and 33, `areinincli`ned pairs spaced apart from each other transversely of the machine, providing a throat or vpassage therebetween 'for the travel of the blank, adjustable stops 8, 11 and414, respectively, being provided-in thesevpassages which inter-` cept the forward edge of the blank or folded blank to buckle the same and initiate a nel of the 'guides 'Z until the sides of the' nforwyar'dterminal portion are intercepted by movement of the" blank to the bight 'of a the stops 8 which buckles the blank in the 1 plane 119, as shown in Figure 28, causingv has a rubber rlm. Emerging from the rolls @the blankto be fed into. the bight. of the 5 and 6 the envelope is directed by an uprolls 6 and 9, as shown 1n Figure 16, the 13 blank thus being fed into the channel of the guide 10 to the position shown 1n Figures 29 and 30, by which time the blank has been folded into the condition shown in Figure 31.` The bottom edge 119 of the blank is intercepted by the stops v11.in the guides 10 so that the blank is buckled, as shown in Figure 29, in the planes 120 and 121 of the two terminal portions, the blank being fed vinto the bight of the rolls 9 and 12, as'plainly shown in Figure 17 whence it emerges into. the channel of the guides 13 and is fed therein until intercepted by the stops 14, as shown in Figures 32 and 33, the blank then being folded into the condition shown in Figure 34. The stops 14 cause the blank to be buckled in the i planes 122 and 123 of the two terminal portions and fed into' the bight of the rolls 12 and 15, as" plainly shown in Figure 18, whence emerging, the blank has received its third foldand is in the condition shown in Figure 25. The blank 2 is then conducted downwardly by the guide16 and into the bight ofr the upper and lower peripherally engaging rolls 17 and 18 whence emerging l from which itis conducted into the guide 19 which leads itt-o certain scoring and glu ing devices which will now be described in detail.

Upon entering this scoring, gluing and side-folding section of the machine, the partially ,completed envelope shown in Figure 25 passes between two pairs of upper and.

lower yrolls 20 and 21, being ,further positively conveyed byy a pair of endless belts 22 which travel around said rolls 2O and other upper rolls 35, 41, 43 and 45, hereinafter fully described. UponV emerging from thebight of the rolls 2O and 21, the forward edge of the envelope intersects in succession a pair of triggers or tripdevices 23' and 24,

Figure 8, located intermediate the longitudinal. vertical planes inwhich the two sets of said rolls 20 and 21 are located,'as plainly shown in Figure 7. The detail operation of these trip devices 23 and 24 will be described hereinafter. Immediately following the intersection of the trip device 24 by the forward end of the blank, the lateral edges of the latter are furnished with a narrow band of glue 34 from ball-valve gluing devices 25,

plainly shown in Figures 11 and 15, said gluing devices being adjustably suspended from aI bar 84 by mea-ns of tubular depending members 26 having tubular upwardly eX- tending` arms 26 connnunicating with flexible pipe conductors 27 fed from a. glue reservoir 2S. The detail construction and ope-rationof the gluing' device 25 will be hereinafter described. The yportions of the blank which receive the glue in the form of a narrowribbon as the envelope passes under the gluing devices are indicated by the ordinal 29, the two-ply pocket, which also rei ceives glue adjacent its ends is indicated by the ordinal 30, and the pull-out tab which y is det-achably interlocked with the pocket 30 is indicated by the brdinal 31, Figure .25. The envelope is next'so'ored to define said side `flaps 32 which will next be folded inwardly 'pairs `of "rolls 35- and 36', theuppe'r rolls' 35 of which have flange-s 35 closely .registering within anges 36 formed upon the flower rolls 36, Figure 9. In order that the side ,flaps 32 may not be be-nt inwardly by the scoring, operation further than the position shown .in Figure 20, I provide a pair of 'plates 37, Figure 7, beneath which the blank travels, said'plates having inner upwardly extending flanges 38,'Figure 20, preventing the turning in of the side iaps 32 before said pside flaps are restrained by the side faces of the flanges 35 of the rolls 35, Figure 21. These flanges 35 hold the side iaps in this position until the completion of the scoring operation and until said side flaps 32 intersect the beveled faces 40 of a pair of turning knives 139, Figures 7 and 22, which progressively .turn down the side flaps 32, Figure 23, until they are finally sealed down upon the envelope portions 29 and the glue 24. Further sealingl is effected by two sets of upper rolls 41, 43 and 45 and respective cooperating lower rolls 42, 44 and 46, the envelope being conveyed over the plate 47 by the endless belts 22.

The envelopes are next conveyed by means of a pair of endless belts 58 and 59 between a series of cooperating upper and lower rolls v56 and 57, an outwardly extending guide 60 being provided intermediate the last rolls 56 and 57 under which the envelope passes on to a series of endless belts 72 traversing rolls 77 and are stacked, as shown, in a container 70. The container is provided with a weight 71 supported upon the body of stacked envelopes, the latter being fed into the stacker 70 beneath the piled envelopes already assembled therein. By ineans of support T3 formed with slots 74 the inclination of the stacker 70 can be adjusted, the adjnstn'lent being such that the! envelopes directed by the guide 60 are fed into 'the stacker 70 so that the forward edge of the envelope will strike upwardly beneath the projecting edge of the envelope last entered and thence will follow under said lastmentioned envelope and be conveyed by the belts 72 to the position shown in Figure 1.

ments provided for this accommodation will now be described.A The side frame 108 of the feed table 1 is laterally adjustable; the left hand rolls y20, 41, 43 and 45, are adjustably secured; and the stacker plate V75' is adjustable laterally. ofthe stacker frame through the medium of slots 76. ln so far as the turning knives 39 are concerned, the same are secured by mea-ns of bolts 63, Fig-v ure 7, to the frame of the machine, the longitudinal alinement of the knives being assured b-y means of straps 39 secured to an aligning member 392, the bolts 63 intersecting said straps 39. By means yof aseries of transversely alinedholes 62 formed n the frame, the left hand knife 39 can be adjusted. 1n so far as the scoring rolls 35 and 36 are concerned, the upperrolls 35 are adjustably secured to a transverse shaft' 48, by means of pins 52 and a keyway 48 formed in said shaft 48, said rolls 35 being spaced apart byl an intermediate roll of desirable size through the medium of springs lcontained with recesses 352 formed in the opposite face of the rolls 35. These resilient spacing means between the rolls 85 allow for. the accommodation of the thickness of the envelope between the flanges 35 and 36 during the scoring operation. The rolls86 `are adjustably secured to a second transverse shaft 49. 1n order to accommodate the envelopes when passing between any of they cooperating parts of the aforementioned rolls, the shafts to which the latter are secured are resiliently mounted in the frame n yielding bearings^ pressed downwardly by means of' springs whose ten` Sion isadjustedby screws 53,` the desired`r adjustmentbeing fixed by means of lock/y nuts 54, Figure 9. j

1n order to insure an accurate feeding of j the blank 2 to the rolls 3 and 4 and particularly to prevent therear narrower half 'of the blank from skewing l provide the depending pivotal-ly mounted weights 105,

Figures 1 and 5,whose pivotal axes 106 eX- tend inwardly from both sides of the feed 4 laterally adjacent the narro umns 92 and 92 vertically movable in frame guide brackets 93 and 93' and supported by means of angular arms 89 and89 and 90 and 90 pivotally mounted at one end upon transverse shafts and 86, respectively, rotatively mounted inthe frame work of the machine. rilhe actual connection of the arms 89,'.89,'90 and 90, with the columns 92 and 92 is through the medium of two pairs of rollers 91 and 91 mounted upon theJ free ends ofthe arms 89-90, and 89-90 respectively, said rollers 91 and 91 being normally held up against the lower ends of the columns. 92 and 92 so as to holdA said columns in their uppermost positionl through the medium of springs 87 and `88 Y secured to straps 94 and 94 which in turn are secured to lugs/85 and 86 secured -ad- 2 jacent one end .of the shafts 85./and 86l respectively, the other ends of said springs 88 being secured to the frame, workof the maf chine. 1t will be noted in Figure 13j/hat the:V

trip lingers 23 and 24 'are securedv 'to the i shafts 85 and 86 respectively,l When the envelope blank intersects the trip 23 and detate slightly, thus lowering arms 89 and 89 and krtheir attached rollers against the tenypresses the same, it causesfthe shaft`85 to rosion of spring 87. rlhis vaction does not, howf' ever, permit the columns 92 and 92', todrop because they are held up by the arms and However, when the envelope also intersects the trip 24, it rotates shaft' 86 and lowers arms 90J and 90 thereby allowing the columns 92 and 92 to fall by'their own weight which results in raising the ball valve 99, Figure 15, whensa'id valve strikes the envel- L90 under the tension 'of the spring 88..`

ino

ter and per-mit the arms'89 and 89L to swing upward under the tension of y spring 87, the columns 92 and 92 are raised, thereby stopping the flow of glue; lt will be lunderstood that the afore-men tioned construction allows .for application of glue to envelope sections somewhat lessfin length than the length of the blankwhich passes" underv the triggers 28 and 24, accordingtd the amount by whichu said triggers are spacedv from each other.' Aswill be noted in Figure 15 the valve casing 95 is internally threaded to receive an externally threaded annular bushing 96 into which depends and is secured,the conductor 26, the latter having lateral portions of its wall cut away and its bottom endJ closed by wall 100 so as to allow the lateral' l' chamber 101 formed inthe casing 9,5 whence flow of glue from the conductor 26 into the the same feeds by the valve 99when the lat'- ter is opened by contact with 'the blank 2. The valve 99 is normally held in closed p0- sition by means of a spring 98 and the casing 95 is covered by aninternally threaded nut cooperating with a portion yof the annu# ,lar member; 96'and forming a cap 97.- Holes 82, Figure 7, are provided in the blank guides beneath the gluing devices 25 so that properly coordinated relations frorr/rthe motor 111 including means-for conveying the blank 2 progressively faster, as desired, as

M the same approaches the delivery end of the machine. l

In order more accurately to insure the proper feeding of the blank 2, I-'provvide means whereby the blank may be pulled by the rolls 5 and 6 faster than it is fed by the roll 3,' as the-latter is turned by the shaft #83. 'By reason of this construction the blank is held taut and thus much of the tendency of the blank 'to skew sideways is obviated. In -order to preserveA the cooperative relation of the driving means between the roll 3 and the rolls 5 and 6,1I rotatably mount the roll 3 upon the shaft v83 which is driven from the motor 111 in any suitable manner; and in the direction indicated in Figures 2 and 3. The roll .3 is provided with two hub portions 81. Adjacent these hub portions .81 two annular members 81 peripherally lined with annular covers 78 are secured to the shaft 83, the inner face portions of /turing envelopes, blank folding means;

which "adjacent to the'hub members 81 are 'formed with cam grooves 79 within which are located balls 80.- From the preceding `description and an inspection of Figures 2 and 3, it will be evident that the rotation of the shaft 83'in the direction indicated will cause the rotation of the roll 3v through the medium'of the cam grooves 79 and the lballs 80, and thus feed the blank 2 at the desired speed. It is also evident that when the blank 2 is caughtby the rolls 5 and 6 and thus fed faster than it is fed bythe rollv 3. .the latter will turn forward upon the shaft 83, being free so to do by reason of the release of the same from the balls contained in the cam grooves 79.

What I claim is:

1. In means for automatically manufacturing envelopes, the combination with folding devices operable transversely to fold a blank; of meansfor applying glue to4 thelateral edgesl off the4 Afolded blank, cooperative rolls" having 'iresiliently "interlocke'd and sealing devices.

flanges for scoring the blank adjacent with# in the glued edges, means temporarily limiting theturningl movement of the scored edges, meanslfor sealing said edges to provide side closures, and cooperative means for conveying vthe blank to said folding, gluing 2. In means for automatically manufacing devices operable transversely to fold a' blank; of means fo'r` applying glue'to the -turing envelopes, .the combination with foldlateral edges of the foldedblank, coopera- `tive rolls having resiliently interlocked -v flanges for `scoring the blank adjacently within the glued edges, horizontal plates ad- ]acently rearward ofsaid scoring rolls beneath which said folded blank' is fed, said. J

plates having vertically extended flanges limiting the turmngvmovement of thel scored edges rearwardly of'said scoringrolls,means closures, and cooperative means for conveying the blank to said folding, gluing and sealing devices. n Y

3. In means for automatically manufactur- `for progressively turning down said scored edges and sealing thesame to provideside ing envelopes, blank folding means; blank gluing means, including a pivoted trip adapted to intercept the blank andbe moved thereby; means tending to hold'said trip innonopera-tive gluing position; glue-feeding means including a ball-yal-ve adapted to be opened by contact with thel blank; means normally'l holding the valve up out of contact with theI blank;j means rendering said last-mentioned means inoperativeand permitting the valve to lower by gravity and opened by contact with thev blank; means normally holding thevalve up out of con# tact with theblank; a shaft to which said trip is secured, said holding lmeans being secured to said shaft and 'being turned out of operative position, thus permitting the valve to lowerby, gravity and feed glue, A

when the shaft is turned by the movement of said trip caused` by the blank; and cooperative lmeans for conveying the blank to said folding and gluing devices.

5. vIn means for automatically manufacturing envelopes, blank folding means; blank gluing means controlled by the movements of the blankand including a-"pair l oflongitudinally spaced pivoted tripsad'apted to intercept the blank' 'and be ,moved thereby; meansA tending to hold said trips in non-operative gluing position,the glue commencing to feed when both trips are moved by the blank and ceasing to feed when the first trip is released by the blank; and cooperative means for conveying the blank to said folding and gluing devices.

6 lin means Jfor automatically manufacturing envelopes, foldin devices operable transversely to fold a blank; blank gluing means controlled by the movements of the blank and including a pair of longitudinally spaced pivoted trips adapted to intercept the blank and be moved thereby; means tending to hold said trips in non-operative gluing position, the glue commencing to feed when both trips are moved by the blank and ceasing to feed when the first trip is released by the blank; means for sealing said blank to form envelope side closures; and cooperative means for conveying the blank to said' fold` ing, gluing and sealing devices.

inseam 7. lin means for automatically manufadn turing envelopes, yfolding devices operable' transversely to fold a" blank; means for applying glue to the lateral edges of the folded blank; means *for sealing said edges to proL vide side closures; and cooperative means for conveying the blank to said folding, glu-` ing and sealing devices, including progressive edgefolding means, and conveying and sealing means comprising a series of cooperative upper and lower rolls, an endless belt traversing said yupperv rolls, a plate over which the blank is conveyed adjacent below the lower path of travel of vthe belt, and a second series of cooperative upper and lower rolls, and.. two series of endlessbelts traversing said last-named rolls, respectively, and conveying the blank between their adjacent lengths.

- @FREDERICK JAMES PARKS.

Signed by me this 22nd day of anuary, 

